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Stop waiting on God

A highlight of growing up is being able to move out of your parents’ house and become an independent young man or woman. You find an apartment, a decent job that will pay the bills and you make lifelong friends. As a rite of passage into adulthood many make adventurous trips either for leisure or to help those in need. They learn to make all their own decisions with the intent of solidifying a belief in themselves.

This doesn’t mean they don’t rely on their Mom or Dad for choices that are difficult and are life-altering. A “fork in the road” decision always presents as a challenge, but we don’t have to face them alone. We have the ability to call home, email, facebook, text or Skype with those who have come before us. But in the end we don’t let others make choices for us.

I believe the same concept follows us spiritually. We should counsel with our Father in Heaven. We should pray to God who knows us perfectly. Clearly we shouldn’t pause what we’re doing and put our life on hold waiting for Him to make our decisions for us. He gave us a beautiful mind and a willing brain to be able to analyze difficult choices that may trouble us. Not only did He give us the freedom to choose but He gave a comforting influence in our life if we live choose to listen.

I’ve found that only when I slow down life to a certain pace then I can be influenced by the Holy Spirit. I begin to feel more confident in all aspects of my life. But if we let the hectic speed of life take over we may forget or even blame God for our troubles.

I’ve met people who wait on God before making nearly every decision in life. Conversely, I’ve met people who refuse to pray because they don’t hear anything or they don’t feel God. There is a happy balance that I wish to encourage. It’s worked in my life.

Shortly after my wife graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree in Communication she was thrilled at the prospect of having a dream job right after getting her degree. She was excited and confident that she would be able to make a positive impact on any news station that picked her up. I was too, but it just didn’t work out that way. Our meager income from me working as a janitor at the college wasn’t going to get us by. I prayed for guidance but didn’t specifically ask God what to do. He gave me an intelligent mind and I trusted in myself. After contemplation I came to the conclusion that we could move back to where my wife, Kayla, was from. We didn’t have a job and it didn’t even make sense, but I know without a doubt after counseling with Kayla about the idea it just felt right. It ended up working out as Kayla found a job within a couple of months in our new home and we were able to be with my Father-in-law as he spent his last moments of life with us at his side. I know if we would have remained in Idaho we wouldn’t have been there for all those precious moments before he passed away.

I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t pray. Quite the opposite. But I do believe prayer should not be used in vain. Counseling with our Father is only half of the equation. Action is the remaining half. If all we do is pray and sit around waiting for a miracle of an answer we will be left waiting in the dust while life passes us by. I promise you God will direct you as you trust in Him, while believing in your abilities to be delivered. Proverbs 3:5-6.

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4 thoughts on “Stop waiting on God”

To add on a little, I have found if the action I take following sincere prayer is not what God intended things just don’t feel right to me – reluctance opposed to a joyful feeling of peace is a good indicator a course correction may be in order.

The hardest is when you’re making a big decision and the answer to Choice X and Choice Y both seem to be “That would be okay with me.” Those are the most frustrating, because you want it to be right or wrong! (At least I do.)

As long as a decision jives with the gospel and I feel peace about it after praying (even if I don’t get the resounding, earth-shattering ‘yes’ or ‘no’ I was hoping for,) I guess moving forward with confidence is the best thing to do.